The invention relates to a system for organizing Gin Rummy card games using multiple pairs of players, each game using a duplicately arranged deck, scoring the winner of individual matches, calculating a handicap for each player and awarding points based on the outcome of the game.
Gin Rummy is one of the most popular forms of rummy. The game is generally played by two players, each receiving ten cards. One standard deck of 52 cards is used. Cards in each suit rank, from low to high: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King.
The players are listed as North and South. All odd numbered deals are dealt by North and all even numbered deals are dealt by South. Each player is dealt ten cards, one at a time. The 21st card is turned face up to start the discard pile and the remainder of the deck is placed face down beside it to form the stock. The players look at and sort their cards.
The object of the game is to arrange as many as possible of the ten cards in your hand into sets. There are two kinds of sets: sequences and groups. A sequence consists of three or more cards of the same suit in consecutive order, such as 4 of clubs, 5 of clubs and 6 of clubs or 8 of hearts, 9 of hearts 10 of hearts and jack of hearts. A group is three or four cards of the same rank, such as 7 of diamonds, 7 of hearts and 7 spades. A card can belong to only one set at a timexe2x80x94you cannot use the same card as part of both a group and a sequence.
A normal turn consists of two parts: the draw and the discard.
The Draw
You must begin by taking one card from either the top of the stock pile or the top card on the discard pile, and adding it to your hand. The discard pile is face up, so you can see in advance what you are getting. The stock is face down, so if you choose to draw from the stock you do not see the card until after you have committed yourself to take it. If you draw from the stock, you add the card to your hand without showing it to the other players.
The Discard
To complete your turn, one card must be discarded from your hand and placed on top of the discard pile face up. If you took the top card from the discard pile, you must discard a different cardxe2x80x94taking the top discard and putting the same card back is not permitted.
For the first turn of the hand, the draw is done in a special way. First, the person who did not deal chooses whether to take the turned up-card. If the non-dealer declines it, the dealer may take the card. If both players refuse the turned-up card, the non-dealer draws the top card from the stock pile. Whichever player took a card completes their turn by discarding and then it is the other player""s turn to play.
The play ends when a player knocks or goes Gin. The rules of play in this game on knocking is as follows. The value of the original face up card determines the maximum count of unmatched cards when it is possible to knock. Pictures denote ten as usual. So if a 7 is turned up, in order to knock, you must reduce your count to seven or fewer. If the original face up card is a spade, the final score for that deal, including any bonus, is doubled. If an ace is the first turned up card, you must go for Gin. Knocking, or going Gin, can be done on any turn (including a player""s first turn), immediately after drawing, provided that you can form a sufficient number of your cards into sets. Having knocked, you complete your turn by discarding one card as usual and then spreading your remaining cards face up on the table, arranged as far as possible into groups and sequences. Any remaining cards from your hand which are not part of a set are called unmatched cards or deadwood. In order to be allowed to knock, the total value of your unmatched cards must be less then the knock card that was turned face up at the start of the hand. If you have no unmatched cards, that is called going Gin, and earns a special bonus.
A player is never forced to knock. A player who is able to knock may choose instead to carry on playing, to try to get Gin with a better score.
The opponent of the player who knocked must then spread their cards face-up, arranging them into sets where possible. Provided that the knocker did not go Gin, the opponent is also allowed to lay off any unmatched cards by using them to extend the sets laid down by the knockerxe2x80x94by adding a fourth card of the same rank to a group of three, or further consecutive cards of the same suit to either end of a sequence.
If a player goes Gin, the opponent is not allowed to lay off any cards. The knocker is never allowed to lay off cards on the opponent""s sets.
The play also ends if the stock pile is reduced to two cards, and the player who took the third last card discards without knocking. In this case the hand is cancelled, there is no score. If one player knocks and the counts of the unmatched cards of the knocker is higher than the opponent, the knocker has been undercut. In this case, the knocker""s opponent scores the difference between the counts, plus a ten point bonus. If a player knocks and the opponent, after laying off, has no points left in their hand, this is called a gin-off. In that case, the player who Ginned-off gets the number that the knocker has in unmatched cards plus a bonus of 20 points. If the knocked card was a spade, the score is doubled.
A player who goes Gin scores a bonus 25 points, plus the opponent""s count in unmatched cards, if any. A player who goes Gin can never be undercut. Even if the other player has no unmatched cards at all, the player who got Gin gets the 25 point bonus the other player scores nothing.
As used in the specification and claims, the term Gin Rummy has the meaning as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, with all its known variations.
It is the object of the invention to provide a system for conducting Gin Rummy card games with simultaneous games being played, each game played with a duplicately arranged deck.
It is another object of the invention to provide a system for scoring outcome of each individual hand in a game based on match points.
It is another object of the game to provide each player with a handicap based on a player""s average score and a percentage of the maximum available points.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a system for awarding points to the winners of the game based on the final score of the game.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide games where players are stratified based on winning average.
It is yet another object of the invention to establish winning averages which are similar to a baseball player""s batting average.
A duplicate Gin Rummy game consists of several tables with two players at each table or over the Internet. The chairs at each table will be designated in a way such as North and South. The Gin Rummy game begins with each table starting out with identically arranged decks of cards so that each North player and each South player begin with identical hands. The hands are played until their conclusion at which time the hands are scored. Two or three hands will be played in each round, with a new, identically arranged deck used for each hand. At the end of a round, the South players will be rotated. South #1 will move to North #2, South #2 will move to North #3, South #10 (if there are ten tables) will move to North #1. If there are ten tables, there will be three hands per round and ten rounds to complete the game. In this case, all South players will play all North players. Each hand will be scored separately using total points. At the end of the game, the total points will be converted to match points.
The score for the game is calculated. The score will be based on the total number of points, then converted to Match Points. In such a system, the winner of each individual hand is awarded a number of Match Points. The individual North player and individual South player with the most Match Points is designated as winning the game.
Winners of the game are awarded points, designated as Gin Points, for winning the game or games. Players accumulate Gin Points by winning points in individual games. Levels of accomplishment are established based on the number of individual Gin Points. The different levels can be given any designation such as A Level, B Level, C Level. In this way, games can be conducted with players of all levels and winners are determined only by counting players on similar levels.
A handicap system can be deployed giving each player a point total added to their score based on the difference between their average points and a percentage of the total points available in a game. In this way, a player using their handicap can compete against players of greater skill and experience on a somewhat level playing field.